The Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Professor Idris Bugaje, has declared that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is Nigeria’s strongest weapon in the fight against poverty.
Bugaje made the statement in Kano during the opening of a two-day capacity-building programme for TVET stakeholders, part of the Better Education for Africa’s Rise (BEAR III) project running from 2023 to 2027. The initiative is spearheaded by UNESCO with support from the Korean government.
Speaking through his technical assistant, Dr. Babangida Ali-baba, the NBTE boss stressed that skills-based education must be placed at the heart of Nigeria’s economic agenda if the country hopes to reduce poverty and unemployment. “The only way we can lift our country out of the poverty level is by ensuring education is given its rightful place at the economic center,” Bugaje said.
He highlighted NBTE’s ongoing reforms, including the digitisation of the Nigerian Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and the strengthening of quality assurance in technical institutions across the country. According to him, these steps are helping schools align with international standards while improving opportunities for Nigerian graduates.
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Delivering his remarks at the event, UNESCO’s Representative to Nigeria, Mr. Mendy Albert, represented by Mr. Manish Joshi, said the programme builds on a 10-week online course completed in July. He explained that the goal is to empower stakeholders to modernise vocational education in line with global best practices.
Mr. Albert noted that TVET is more than just an educational framework. He described it as a catalyst for youth empowerment, self-employment, and sustainable economic growth.
Also speaking, the Director of Technology and Science Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Muhibat Adeleke Olodo, revealed that over one million Nigerians have already enrolled under the new TVET framework. She added that federal technical colleges admitted an additional 15,000 students this month alone.
According to Dr. Olodo, the government’s reforms are designed to expand access to technical education, adapt curricula to labour market demands, and improve employability among Nigeria’s fast-growing youth population.
The programme in Kano is part of a wider effort to position technical education as a driver of national transformation and a long-term solution to poverty reduction in Nigeria.
